American author (1944- )
Remember that in today's market, distribution and promotion are as important as craft. But don't forget what made you want to write fiction. If it was for the money, you're in the wrong business!
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Book Browsing, Jul. 26, 2012
I have two careers that I can do at home in my jammies--the other is online therapy, treating clients around the world via chat and email--so I spend most days at the computer whether I'm writing or not.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Kings River Life Magazine, May 2012
My way of allotting my time is completely intuitive. I sit down at the typewriter every morning and start tackling whatever seems most pressing.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Book Browsing, Jul. 26, 2012
When I finished the first draft of Death Will Get You Sober, I joined Sisters in Crime and, later, Mystery Writers of America. After that, it was a matter of doing a lot of revision, sending out hundreds of queries over several years, and applying "talent, persistence, and luck"--sometimes known as "persistence, persistence, persistence."
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, The Fix
I confess I'm not on Twitter. You could say it's the ultimate schmoozing tool, but a limit of 140 characters suggests relationships that are too superficial for me. Hey, I do psychotherapy online. I like to go deep.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Book Browsing, Jul. 26, 2012
My goal as a writer is to move people, to make them laugh and cry, and I'm gratified when I succeed. But I didn't invent the humor in recovery. It's already there. There's a tremendous amount of laughter at a good AA meeting.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, The Fix
I was born to schmooze.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Book Browsing, Jul. 26, 2012
Go to any lengths to avoid preachiness! If you have to choose between the message and the story, always choose the story.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, The Fix
I come from the generation of readers who expected a beloved series to go on and on. I would be happy to keep Bruce and Barbara and Jimmy going as long as they're willing to talk to me in my head. But times have changed, and if that's not possible, I don't know what will come next.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Getting Medieval: Author Jeri Westerson's Blog
My only ritual is making sure everyone leaves me alone.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
"An Interview with Elizabeth Zelvin--Author, Psychotherapist, and Singer-Songwriter", Debra H. Goldstein - DHG's Blog
I fell in love with the short story form and kept on going. I found that even 3,000 words is surprisingly spacious and that writing short allowed me to experimented with different subgenres and voices without a huge investment of time and energy or too much of a stake in the outcome for any particular story.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
"Interview Questions and Answers", official website
I spent fifteen years working for various publishers editing text and reference books, including a beautifully edited but mind-numbing accounting textbook. That didn't get me any closer to being a published novelist, though it made me a crackerjack editor.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
"Interview Questions and Answers", official website
The writing life is different from what I expected when my first mystery, Death Will Get You Sober, came out five years ago. As a young woman, I visualized social success and validation rather than the task of writing, but if someone had asked me, I would have said it would be a solitary task. I spend a lot of time at my computer, alone in my apartment, but I'm constantly connected to the community of mystery writers and the larger community of mystery lovers, thanks to the Internet. And since I'm lucky enough to live in New York City, I go to all the parties--book launches, Edgars Week, monthly meetings of MWA and Sisters in Crime--as well as mystery conventions. The support and guidance of other writers has been crucial to the development of my craft as well as the business of getting and staying published.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Book Browsing, Jul. 26, 2012
It takes a lifetime of practice to achieve a spiritually sound state of imperfection.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
Death Will Get You Sober
Getting my poems published was a great achievement, but it didn't pay the rent. The only time I made any money was when I won a CAPS fellowship from the New York State Council on the Arts in 1983. They gathered sixteen poets in a room and handed us each a check for $5,000. The room was filled with happiness so thick you could cut it. Eventually, I started looking around for another way to make a living.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
"Interview Questions and Answers", official website
How can a treatable illness be a villain? I'm writing mysteries, and the villains are the murderers, though even they may end up eliciting our understanding or sympathy. On the other hand, I could make a case for recovery itself--from addictive substances and compulsive behaviors, not only from alcoholism--being the true hero.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Getting Medieval: Author Jeri Westerson's Blog
I work best without distractions. Do Not Disturb signs are made for someone like me. I'm baffled by writers who prefer to write in Starbucks.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Kings River Life Magazine, May 2012
I'm an into-the-mist writer in terms of plotting, and my process in general is very intuitive. Since my series characters are well established, what usually happens is they start talking in my head, and I'd better grab a pad and pen or hit the digital recorder feature on my iPhone or get to the keyboard before it goes away.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, Kings River Life Magazine, May 2012
Most recovering alcoholics in early sobriety have trouble believing they'll ever have fun again but if they hang in there, it's amazing how good life can become.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
interview, The Fix
Death will get you sober.
ELIZABETH ZELVIN
Death Will Get You Sober